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NASA Finds Evidence of Recent Flowing Water on Mars

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the some-bound-to-claim-theory-is-all-wet dept.

SonicSpike writes to mention that Scientists are claiming that they have evidence of water flowing on Mars within the last five years. From the article: "Subsurface aquifers or melting ground ice were floated as possible sources of the water. One of the springs even appears at a fault line, according to Malin, just as they often do on Earth. The shortness of the gulleys, which seem to flow for but a few hundred yards, might be accounted for by a process similar to a volcano's eruption on Earth, with water instead of magma building up underground, and ice, instead of fire, characterizing the resulting flow."

2 of 238 comments (clear)

  1. Not 100% by silentounce · · Score: 5, Informative

    Not all scientists are convinced that it was actually water.
     
    "Many scientists believe the gullies were carved by liquid water, although others have argued they are due to avalanches of carbon dioxide gas or rivers of dust," from The New Scientist.
     
      Also, here is the NASA release from their site.

    --
    There are many tongues to talk, and but few heads to think. -Victor Hugo
  2. Not quite on the surface by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you look at the high res images (from NASA here)
    You can see the flow emerges from the side of an impact crater.
    The water was most likely locked underground (as expected by the briney moist soil effect the rovers noticed just under the surface)

    Its like diggign a hole in the sand at the beach, eventually water will start to seep in.

    --
    liqbase :: faster than paper